Renegade Blog

As I have mentioned in previous articles, I was dealing with a hip injury and contemplating retiring from competition in early 2014. There I was in May with my hip getting worse day by day, even with rest and medicine. I remember one afternoon I went food shopping, I was walking through the parking lot and my hip/leg just gave out and I was on the concrete. I was able to struggle back to my feet somehow and managed to walk with a shopping cart to keep me from falling again. I was really worried because there was no warning, my leg just gave out, and I was scared it would happen again. Over the next few weeks I fell downstairs, upstairs, in the shower, on the mats in training, in the kitchen...yeah, I fell just about everywhere I went! Competition is now out of the question! I just want to be able to walk ok again and maybe to be able to train. I was becoming depressed due to lack of exercise, I felt like an old horse with a lame leg, and thought that maybe someone should just come and put me out of my misery! Weeks of unrelenting pain went by and I was way too proud and a little too stupid to get myself back to the Dr. What happened next was a sign in the form of a call that came out of nowhere and that I didn't expect......

I consider myself to be a rational and intelligent person, but sometimes I feel a 'sign' appears, and I throw logic and reason out of the window, and follow my instincts, like I am drawn to do something. A short back story of an example of this, back in 2010 I was asked to compete in the British Sambo Championships. I had not made up my mind on whether i would compete or not, and i was weighing the pros and cons, especially as no american had ever won a gold medal in Sambo at the British Open. My good friend Rob stopped by the gym as training was starting one night. He asked me if I was going to go and do the British tournament and i told him I didn't make up my mind yet. I told him i was waiting for a 'sign'.... just as i said that, at the exact same time, I turned on the radio and...... "London Calling" by 'the Clash' was playing. That was my sign! I decided i was going and immediately called the US team coach to inform him. I came back with 2 medals in 2 different divisions, Gold and Silver. i believe in signs!

Back to 2014, I'm injured, limping, falling, feeling sorry for myself like a big baby. I remember the moment, I was sitting there in horrible pain, and the phone rings....'unknown number'. I usually don't answer unknown numbers, but I was doing absolutely nothing, and I had a strong feeling I should answer the call.

"hello" I said. "Anthony Sansonetti? hi it's Dan Kanagie From the North American Catch Wrestling Association". "Hey Dan, How are you?" I had competed in Dan's organization's catch wrestling championship in 2013 and won 1st place in the Open weight division, becoming the East Coast Champion. "I'm good Anthony, the reason I'm calling is that you won the East Coast Championship, and we have a guy in San Diego that won the West Coast championships twice. We would like to unify the title for a North American Heavyweight Champion, the first time in 100 years." I replied "sounds interesting so far Dan" thinking to myself...how can I do this?...I can't even walk!....I'm going to have to tell him no.... Then Dan said "we want to do it in NJ, August 30th, in the humid summer heat, in a warehouse with no air conditioning. the match will be three, 15 minute rounds, winner must win 2 of 3 rounds, either by pin or submission." I said 'Dan, that sounds pretty good" again thinking....I can't do this...I'm done!... old!....broken and lame...go hide under a rock and die....but don't get invloved in this...you can't even train!..... "Dan, who is the opponent?" Dan replied " A guy names Luis Ojeda, he's a wrestling coach in the San Diego area, a catch wrestling instructor, he's also competed in some other forms of wrestling like swingen (swiss wrestling), and some other things, he's 6'4 and will probably have to cut weight because he won't be able to come in over 225 lbs" ......6'4? cut weight to 225lbs? i'm 5'10 and 205 lbs without cutting weight!....and what the hell is swingen??.....just tell him noooooo!!!!!....

I said "Well, Dan, I am intruged, and it sounds pretty awesome...." "oh" Dan interrupted.... "I forgot to mention that there will be a $1000 prize purse split 70/30 to the winner and loser. We want to make it a real pro wrestling championship, in a wrestling ring, a non-worked (scripted) match that they used to do before pro wrestling became a show. Do you have an interest in doing the match? Do you need a couple od days to decide?". "No, Dan....I don't need any time to decide. I'm in. Let's do it!". my thoughts.....what?!?...you can't do this!...your leg! Your hip!....you haven't bee training...you will get hurt!....Shhhhhhh!!!!!! I am a martial artist... a warrior..... I have dedicated my entire life to this craft..... I believe in myself! My mind will lead, my body must follow! I will fall 7 times....to rise 8....Get hurt!? I am hurt! If I die, let it be in the ring chasing a dream, pursuing greatness! Not withering away feeling sorry for myself. Rise!!!!!!!!!

Maybe a little dramatic, but it was the catalyst I needed to get up and get my health in order. I needed a mission to set my mind on. This was going to be a very difficult task with my pride and reputation on the line.

The Match, toughness, and inner strength

I got myself to the Dr ASAP. MRI, Xray, and then hip injectons. The injection was supposed to take a few days to begin working. 7 days later I had no change. I was in horrible pain and worried that the match would not happen. On the 8th day, massive relief in my hip! A few days later and i was 90% better. the injection, if it was to work, could last up to 6 months. i started to train as much as possible. I had to prepare to do 3, 15 minute rounds with 1 minute break between rounds. I didn't think the rounds would last more than 5 minutes without a pin or submission. in catch wrestling yuo can win by 3 second pin if you pin both of your opponents shoulders to the mat. I felt i had the submission advantage and that Luis migth have the pinning advantage. In any case iw as training for the longest possible outcome. i was wrestling 15 minute rounds with a fresh opponent every 5 minutes. my conditioning was at an all time high by mid august, I felt like a machine that did not tire out. i was ready!

On August 30th, 2014, in a hot sweaty gym in Lawrenceville, NJ, I wrestled Luis Ojeda for the North American heavyweight Catch Wrestling title. I weighed in at 205 lbs, Luis Ojeda at 225 lbs which was the max he could weigh in. There was a few hours between weigh ins and match time, so he probably rehydrated back to 230 lbs or 235 lbs. I was giving up at least 25 lbs and 6 inches in height, my 5'10 to his 6'4. Luis Ojeda is a pretty big dude, he exudes confidence, and you can tell by the look in his eyes that he is a tough guy, not in the tattoed tapout wearing way (no offense to tapout and tats!) , well just look at his mugshot in the poster above! I also believe in myself and have a pretty good game face. I don't get nervous or scared when i compete, i get excited! No place else I would rather be!!!!

The match starts, Luis is taller and stands very upright, almost daring me to shoot in for his legs. I refuse, although smaller than him, I do have a very strong grip and strong forearms. i decide to wrestle with him standing for control of the neck, underhook and overhooks. my plan is that being bigger and maybe not used to NJ humidity, that he will get tired if I make him work faster than he wants. Within 2 minutes we are completely covered in sweat, and gripping is almost impossible. We hit the ground and I defend from bottom turtle position. Luis tries a few turnovers, but I defend well. he tries a few nasty cross faces ( if you don't know what that is, turn your chin to touch your shoulder as fast as you possibly can, repeat every 10 seconds ) A few times he kneels on my achilles tendon to set up a leglock, but I adjust. he is cautious to try and take my back for the choke, he seems to be content riding (keeping his weight on my back) and waiting for me to get frustrated and make a mistake. Somehow 15 minutes goes by and neither of us has a pin or submission, round 1 draw. I am 100% recovered after the 1 minute break, I feel if i keep him active he will tire. I have to avoid being in the bottom turtle position....he is able to rest there and i don't want to carry his weight on my hip/back.

Round 2. We upper body wrestle pushing each other all over the ring. At one point Luis has a bodylock while i'm trapped in the corner, i am certail my spine is going to crack, but i calmly defend and adjust. My spine stays intact. i make a mistake and am caught in the bottom turtle position. minutes go by....Luis smashes me with a crossface, almost like a strike/punch....he apologizes... i say "sorry? don't be sorry! i like it! That's all you got?" that leads to a series of cross faces but I keep laughing them off. I think he is getting frustrated. I am stuck in bottom turtle....too many minutes down here, at least 8 minutes with him riding, my back is going numb from his weight, between the crossfaces and kneeling on my achilles he is not letting me rest, i'm constantly breaking his grip or defending something. i'm playing it cool.....but I'm frustrated...but I sense he is too. Round 2 ends as a draw! last round detemines a winner, must get a pin or submission.

Round 3. In between rounds I look over and smile at him. He is more tired. My lungs feel good but my grip is shot from handfighting with him. My back and hips are numb. I still feel more ready for round 3 than him. I try to attack harder for control of his neck or an arm. massive amount of sweat. he is taller and heavier, I try to push the pace but he knows what he is doing and I am forced to play his slower game. I don't remeber how or what, but yet again i end up in bottom turtle. More of the same, crossfaces, turnover attempts, kneeling on my achilles, I try to create scrambles to reverse without getting pinned, but he moves just enough to keep me in bottom turtle. It's torture. I have lost contact with my body, i can't explain it any better than that, everything was telling me to quit...demons..the voices of failure and self doubt. i needed strength, someplace deep in my mind or outside of it. I thought of my father, who passed away in 2002, he wrestled and would be proud of me, but not if I gave up now. He was in my head. I thought of my son who is 1 and a half, who never met his grandfather, what kind of legacy would it be to break now? What kind of father would I be if I quit? Was that how i was raised? Do iw ant to raise my son to fail? They deserve better. I won't be broken. I might lose, I might die, but i will not be broken. 15 minutes go by. Round 3 is a draw!

They were not prepared for us to wrestle 45 minutes without either of us getting a submission or pin. They quickly decide, 1 more round of 15 minutes, if no pin or submission, they will declare a winner based on that round. The criteria for judging is not stated but it doesn't matter.

Round 4. More of the same of how we started first 3 rounds, but much slower, we are both exhausted. Somehow we scramble on the ground, and he is behind me in turtle position. 10 minutes have gone by. 5 minutes left, i fear they will give him the match for being a little more active than I am. i have a decision to make.... i can defend for 5 more minutes and let them decide and most likely lose the match, or, I can take more of a risk, which will be good if it works but might get me pinned if it doesn't. I didn't want to lose by decision, so I made the best attempt I could to create a scramble, but Luis adjusted and I was caught in a pin and lost the match.

55 minutes of wrestling and torture. I gave it everything I had. I did not quit. i came up short, but in a match like this, there is no loser. i beat my demons. I beat my injured hip. What was impossible to do in may, I went and did in August. I thought I was old and washed up, but I reached a level of conditioning i did not think was possible. I learned a lot about myself. For those 55 minutes I was truly alive. It was an unbelievably amazing experience!

My family and Luis's family all went out to eat afterwards. He's a good guy and we became friends. We have a bond and mutual respect for each other after such a long, grueling match.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

In April 2014 our combined Youth and Adult Sambo team entered the USA Sambo Championships. I'm proud to say that Team Renegade is now home to another 5 national champions! Our team took home a combined 14 medals, 5 Gold, 5 Silver, and 4 Bronze. The level of competition was for the most part higher than the Arnolds in the previous month. Overall, it was an incredible day, and I'm just so proud of how hard the team trained and the results of the tournament!

My injury update and competition retirement

I decided to compete at the USA Sambo Championships even though my injured hip was becoming progressively worse. I won the USA Sambo open in 2013 (masters -100 Kg division), but I was mostly healthy then. I was somewhat able to get through training leading up to the tournament, but on the day of the event I was feeling awful. I could hardly stand without pain or warm up properly. All things considering, I did ok and won a few matches, winning Silver in the -100 Kg masters division and Bronze in the -100 Kg seniors division. I did the best I could do with the injury I had. it wasn't so much the pain, I can deal with that, but the inflammation in my hip was so severe I was losing strength and feeling in my leg, to the point that I could not even do a leg extension 2 times on my injured side with 30 lbs. I left this tournament with 2 medals, and with the feeling that is was time to retire from active competiton and that my best days were behind me. I had a good run, I won plenty of medals and awards including the US Sambo champion in 2013, and the british Sambo champion 2x (2010 and 2013). perhaps it's time for a new chapter in my life and to focus on teaching and coaching....time will tell.

The day after competing in the British Sambo Championship I flew from London to palermo for a week of touring Sicily. Before i went to the British, I wanted to plan a trip to a place or country I had never been. Both of my Grandmothers are Sicilian so I decided this would be a good place to visit. I found a very cheap flight (less than $100) from London-Stansted Airport to Palermo. I had planned to travel alone, but when I mentioned the trip to my brother-in-law Dave, he was interested in going as well. So it went like this me- New York, London, win some Sambo medals, Palermo. Dave went Boston, Dublin, drink some beers, Palermo. I arrived several hours before Dave and had to make my way to the hotel. This was my first time to Sicily, and I had expected something different in my head. I expected it to be like scenes out of Godfather Part 2 or from one of my favorite movies Baaria. I expected pick pockets, mafiosa, and old women wearing all black mourning attire. It was not like this at all, but I am not sure what description would do it justice. The best way to decribe Palermo in one word is intense! Everyone, everywhere, it all comes at you like actors and scenes on a movie set. People there just seemed just so full of life and intensity, maybe they are all just a reflection of the city itself which is rich in history and over 2700 years old. I took the the bus from the airport to the center of palermo. I was quite sure the bus driver was trying to get into an accident, as he was serving in and out of traffic and cutting off people in a way that makes New York City cabs seem calm. I quickly learned that the most dangerous thing in Palermo is walking across a street. Later that day I met up with my brother-in-law and decided on what to do.

We had planned a week long tour, but we knew it would be impossible to see everything as Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean sea. We split up for a day as I wanted to take the train to Cefalu, which is the town where my Grandmother's family is from. Cefalu is very different that Palermo, it is a smaller town that is now a summer tourist hotspot. Overlooking the town is a gigantic rock, called La Rocca. I climbed La Rocca to the top where there is an ancient fortress, which took about 3 hours in sandals and 90 degree heat. The view from the top is amazing andw ell worth the walk. I couldn't help but imagine that many of my past relatives climbed this mountain and saw the same view. Cefalu is an amazing and beautiful place, it was hard to imagine why anyone would want to leave.

The next day we took a 4 hour train ride to Agrigento, which is famous for having some of the best ancient Greek ruins outside of Greece itself. We toured the "Valley of the Temples", it was very interesting to see these old structures and I find ancient history fascinating. That being said, after an hour or 2, it is done and time to move on. There is not much to do in the town of Agrigento, so rented a car and drove a few hours along the southern coast to out next destination, Modica.

This city is another tourist spot that Italians like to visit in the summer. Modica sits in the part of Sicily that is famous for it's Baroque architecture. Modica, like most places in Sicily that I visited is very laid back and friendly. People were just very nice. We burnt out the clutch on our rental car driving the incrediblly steep and narrow hilly streets Modica. Our car was stuck in a narrow hilly street away from any touristy areas or stores. There were just apartments and not many people around. People realized we were in trouble and came out from their apartments to help. Soon it seemed a crowd of 50 or more people were out in the street and on their balconies. After they helped us get our problem fixed, they cheered as we made it back up the steep hill and drove away. They were very helpful and friendly people. From Modica, we did day trips to Siracusa and some of the surrounding beach towns.

On one of the last days I decided to visit Ragusa, and train at the only Sambo gym in Sicily. A.S.D. City Gym is run by Alfio Nifosi. Alfio has represented Italy and competed in Combat Sambo at the World Championships. Wherever I travel I try to visit a Martial Arts gym and share techniques. Alfio had invited me to train and had informed me that because it is summer many of his students are on holiday, and it would just be a small group training. We had a good training session and exchanged techniques. The atmosphere in his gym is very friendly and the his students are all very good. Nobody spoke English and I don't speak Italian, but we still got along well and had a great time training. my visit later made the local newspaper in Ragusa. Here is the article.

Overall my trip to Sicily was amazing. It was great to swim in the sea, especially after just competing a few days before in England. I did not talk about the food or the cafes in Sicily. Why you might ask? Because I can write about that for 3 more pages! I grew up in a very italian American household with incredible food, so I have experienced really good home cooked Italian meals. So I am a tough critic. let's just say everything in Sicily was incredible! Pasta, fish, and Pizza were all amazing, everywhere I went. The best Cannoli i ever had in my life was at a small cafe in Licata. A year later and I am still dream of it! The cafes all had great espresso, both in restaurants and cafes in Sicily, you are never rushed to order or to leave. They truly treat you like family everywhere. Give me their Espresso..Pizza...Gelato, all day, everyday!

2013 really was a very busy year for our competition team. Our fighters competed in pro and amateur MMA, Sambo, Freestyle Sambo, Judo, Catch Wresetling, and No-Gi Submission Grappling. That is part of the reason it has taken so long to catch up on the happenings with Team Renegade. Another reason was having a newborn at home, which made traveling to competitions, coaching, training, and running a full time martial Arts school very difficult. We got everyting done and took home many medals and victories, but Blogging took a back seat to the events at hand. Life is a learning process, and in the last 2 years I have learned to manage my time much more efficiently.

British Sambo Championships - In late June of 2013 I traveled to England to represent the United States at the British Sambo Championships. This was my 2nd time at the British, I had competed in 2010 and had won the Gold medal in the Masters Division as well as a Silver medal in the mens -90KG division. This was the first and only time an American had won a Gold medal in the Masters, an accomplishment that I am very proud of. In the years previous to 2010, the United States was looked as being very weak in Sambo. We earned more respect that day.

(2 pics of me from 2010 Britsh sambo Championship)

Anyway, forward to 2013. The president of the British Sambo Federation, Russell Dodds, asked me to come by his club (Bedford Grappling Club) the day before the tournament and share some techniques with his students. I was honored to be asked, as I had competed against Russell back in 2010, he is a very fierce competitor and is an accomplished coach in both Judo and Sambo.

(2 Pictures from Bedford grappling Academy below)

The next day was the tournament. Before tournaments I usually talk to everyone, I am very friendly, and most people are friendly in the sport of Sambo. It is a brotherhood for sure. In one of my matches I faced a former semi-pro rugby player. I had been talking with this group before the tournament began, and I feel this man took my friendliness as weakness, that maybe I was "soft". As soon as the match started he charged forward and headbutted me out of view of the referee. Tasting my own blood, I immediately become very adrenalized, and beat him 12-0 (4 point throw, 4 point hold, 4 point throw), all in less than a minute. Afterwards, I realized I had bit off a small piece of my tongue when I was headbutted. To be clear, I do not know if this man did it on purpose, it doesn't matter, I agree with getting away with anything you can to win a match, even if it's "dirty". I don't play this way, or want my students to, but I have no problem with it. Afterwards I talked to my opponent, with mutual respect and no hard feelings. He seemed to be a good guy, a very "tough" guy, while his Sambo skills weren't very elite, he was still the kind of guy you would want on your side in a pub fight! Overall, I did very well, taking a Bronze Medal in the mens -100 KG division, and once again a Gold Medal in the Masters division. I was pleased to become a 2x British Sambo Champion!

Yes, You read it right! 2013 in review. We have done a better job at keeping our facebook page updated, and as 2014 comes to a close I have decided to make it my mission to BLOG more and keep everyone updated on the events and happenings with our team, our gym, and our soon to be international association. Below is the highlights of team Renegade competition results for 2013. here we go:

NOLA Sambo invitational - For those that don't know NOLA stands for New Orleans, LouisianA. Ok you probably did, but I did not know for a long time! Jeremy Piaser, Ben Syers, and Anthony Sansonetti ( aka the NOLA expert) competed in 3 different weight classes. Jeremy finished 2nd in his weight, I took 2nd as well, Ben won first. my good friend Reilly Bodycomb put on this tournament and It was very well run with many exciting matches. As a benefit, New Orleans is an amazing city to hang out in. I always prefer to travel and compete at new exciting places, but will go wherever they set up mats for a good tournament. This was my 2nd trip to NOLA. The French Quarter is pretty awesome, but after a day or 2 it can feel a bit too touristy. if you visit new orleans, try Frenchman Street for very cool bars with live music. We also went on a swamp tour which was something I have never done before and we all found it very enjoyable. I had a really good time, and I wish I could have stayed a few extra days. back to the matches, I don't remeber how Ben and Jeremy won their matches, but Jeremy probably pulled out some fast ninja moves, while Ben's matches must have went on all day as he slowly wore down his opponents. As for me, I had a really nice Tomoe Nage (stomach throw) and followed up with an armbar. I think I won another match by armbar as well. Gret tournament, great city, great time!

Sambo at the Arnolds - This was the first year that they included Sambo at the Arnold Schwarzenegger sports festival. the Aronlds is held every year in Columbus, ohio. I competed at the Arnolds in 2005, which was the first year they included MMA. They ran the MMA event as a tournament in which you have to compete more than once in a day. I remember i had cut 18 lbs to make weight the day before. I won my first fight in the 2nd round with a guillotine. My next match was almost 4 hours later. The weight cut caught up with me and I began to feel exhausted in a way similiar to the Flu or mono, I was in no condition to do another fight, I had a hard time warming up and breaking a sweat before the fight. As there was 4 guys in my division, this match was for a gold or silver medal. I went out there flat and got caught in a choke, but still got a silver medal for my efforts. Anyway, that was 2005 and MMA, back to Sambo and 2013. The short of it, one of my students, Brittany, and I went and both came home with gold medals. I weighed around 215 lbs, but they did not have anyone my weight, so I agreed do do a match vs a 265 lbs guy. he had a Judo background, so I took him down with a belt grab version of o-uchi_gari, I then quickly leglocked him. Columbus is kind of a boring town, but the Arnolds is such a huge awesome event that it makes it worth going.

US Sambo Championships - The US Sambo Championships was help in New Jersey in May of 2013. As a team, we took home 2 Gold medals, 4 Silver medals, and 1 Bronze medal. I won my division to win the USA Sambo Championship. I became the only person to have won both the Britsh (2010) and US Championship (2013). Jeremy Piaser won Gold in Combat Sambo and also Silver in Sport Sambo. Jeremy has now won US Combat Sambo Championship (2013) and Canadien Combat Sambo championship (2008 ).